The conservative groups that poured millions into Mississippi to topple Republican Sen. Thad Cochran quickly kicked into damage control mode Wednesday morning, hours after the six-term incumbent eked out an unexpected primary win.

The conservative Club for Growth, whose political arm spent more than $3.1 million trying to unseat Mr. Cochran, took a moment to remind critics that the group has notched a number of notable primary wins over the years, including Sens. Ted Cruz in Texas, Marco Rubio in Florida and Rand Paul in Kentucky. Read More »

Appearing with Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) at a Wall Street Journal breakfast Wednesday morning, Mr. Schumer declared the tea party movement has “peaked” and said Mr. Cochran’s comeback victory over challenger Chris McDaniel was “not an aberration.” That dynamic, the New York Democrat said, will free House Republicans to support an immigration reform package that could be political trouble if they feared a conservative backlash against it. Read More »

Mississippi on Tuesday upended a number of accepted rules of politics: Turnout is supposed to drop in run-off elections but it went up compared to the June 3 primary. Republicans who campaign on the benefits of government are supposed to lose, but Sen. Thad Cochran ran on his federal procurements and won. And candidates with momentum aren’t supposed to suddenly lose, but tea partier Chris McDaniel did.

Mr. Cochran owes his victory to a turnout operation that recruited Democrats – particularly the state’s African Americans in Jackson and in counties that hug the Mississippi River — and a messaging shift that emphasized his Washington clout.

His victory, by just less than 6,000 votes out of nearly 365,000 cast, was one in a series of establishment victories – Democratic and Republican – in Tuesday’s primaries. Here are five takeaways: Read More »

Railing against the tea party movement is a staple of Democratic campaigning in 2014 – but it turns out many Republicans are just as frustrated with their party’s insurgent wing.

Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 41% of non-tea party Republicans believe the tea party has too much influence. Of self-described tea partiers, 56% say they have too little influence, compared with just 3% who said they have too much. Read More »

Having helped David Brat to his stunning victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham is now trying to lift up another obscure GOP challenger: Joe Carr in Tennessee.

Ms. Ingraham had Mr. Carr on her show Friday, boosting him in his primary challenge to Sen. Lamar Alexander, who voted for the Senate immigration bill that she and some other conservatives despise. Mr. Carr used his time to attack that legislation.

“We’ve got a massive … unemployment problem in this country and yet we’re opening up our border to continue to drive down wages,” he said. Talking about working Americans, he said, “Amnesty doesn’t help them.” Read More »

It was supposed to be a casual dinner of tea party and conservative movement leaders at the Virginia home of ForAmerica chairman Brent Bozell to talk about upcoming races in 2014.

But while the group was still nibbling on cheese and crackers, Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin checked the early returns in Tuesday’s GOP primary pitting House Majority Leader Eric Cantor against a little-known challenger. Read More »

Despite a string of primary losses this spring, Jenny Beth Martin, president of the Tea Party Patriots, says she sees a silver lining in her movement’s future.

“You are going to win elections, and you are going to lose elections,” Ms. Martin said in a Tuesday meeting with Wall Street Journal reporters. “What I think the value of the tea party is, is that after election day, we don’t go away. We continue to hold those who we elect accountable.” Read More »

Sen. Thad Cochran’s bid for reelection to a seventh term has thrust him into a bitter primary battle against GOP State Sen. Chris McDaniel, and it is the first time since 1984 that the 76-year-old Republican has been in a competitive race. Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.